1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cassette mounting device which moves up or down a cassette holder in which a tape cassette is inserted, and to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus such as a VCR (video cassette recorder) including such cassette mounting device.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 21 shows one example of a recording and/or reproducing apparatus including a conventional cassette mounting device. The example shown in FIG. 21 includes a cassette holder 102 into which to insert a cassette 101, and a pair of levers 103 and 104 which are turnably connected to each other by a shaft 105 and constitute a link. One end of the lever 103 is turnably supported in a hole 115 provided in a chassis 107, by a shaft 106, while the other end of the lever 103 is slidably engaged with a shaft 109 of the cassette holder 102 by means of a slot 108. The shaft 106 is turnably secured to the chassis 107 by a snap ring. One end of the lever 104 is slidably engaged with a slot 111 of the chassis 107, while the other end of the lever 104 is turnably supported on the cassette holder 102 by a connecting member 112 which connects the link to a link (not shown) provided on the opposite side of the cassette holder 102.
The example shown in FIG. 21 also includes an upward urging spring 113 which is disposed in tension between the lever 103 and the lever 104, a lock lever 114 which, when the cassette holder 102 is moved to its down position, engages with a lock member 120 provided on the chassis 107 and holds the cassette holder 102 at the down position, and a spring 116 which urges the lock lever 114 to turn clockwise.
When the cassette 101 is inserted into the cassette holder 102 and the cassette holder 102 is pressed, the cassette holder 102 moves down by the link action of the levers 103 and 104. If the cassette holder 102 is released from its locked state at the down position, the levers 103 and 104 are moved by the spring 113 so that the cassette holder 102 moves upward.
In this conventional cassette mounting device, since the connecting member 112 is provided at one end of the lever 104, the lever 104 is connected to a lever which constitutes the like provided on the opposite side of the cassette holder 102 (i.e., a lever which is not shown in FIG. 21 and corresponds to the lever 104), and the cassette holder 102 can be held at the down position in an approximately horizontal state.
However, in the process of assembling the above-described conventional apparatus, when the cassette holder 102 is to be secured to the chassis 107, the shaft 106 provided at one end of the lever 103 is inserted into the hole 115 of the chassis 107 and a snap ring or the like is fitted onto the shaft 106. Accordingly, assembling operations need to be separately performed on the opposite sides of the cassette holder 102, and a larger number of assembling steps are needed.
In addition, when the cassette holder 102 is to be secured to the chassis 107, it is necessary to slide the extending end of the shaft 106 into the inside of the chassis 107 while appropriately bending the lever 103 by using its elasticity with extreme care without deforming the lever 103. This work is also time-consuming.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a cassette mounting device which allows a cassette holder to be easily and safely secured to a chassis, and a recording and/or reproducing apparatus including such cassette mounting device.
To achieve the above object, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a cassette mounting device which comprises a cassette holder into which to insert a cassette, a pair of link mechanisms disposed on lateral opposed sides of the cassette holder so that the cassette holder is supported for upward and downward movement with respect to a chassis, and a fixing member which fixes each of the pair of link mechanisms to the chassis, the fixing member clamping each of the pair of link mechanisms turnably with respect to the chassis.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a cassette mounting device which comprises a cassette holder into which to insert a cassette, a pair of link mechanisms disposed on lateral opposed sides of the cassette holder so that the cassette holder is supported for upward and downward movement with respect to a chassis, and a connecting member for causing the pair of link mechanisms to move at the same time, wherein the connecting member and link members of the pair of link mechanisms are integrated and supported turnably with respect to the chassis.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a cassette mounting device which comprises a cassette holder into which to insert a cassette, a pair of link mechanisms disposed on lateral opposed sides of said cassette holder so that the cassette holder is supported for upward and downward movement with respect to a chassis, a lock lever which locks the cassette holder at a down position thereof, and a spring which urges the lock lever to turn, the spring being disposed in a gap between the cassette and an inside of the cassette holder.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a cassette mounting device which comprises a cassette holder into which to insert a cassette, a link mechanism which supports the cassette holder for upward and downward movement with respect to a chassis between an up position and a recording/reproducing position, a lid opener capable of opening a front lid of the cassette during a cassette mounting operation, and a stopper which selectively restricts the cassette mounting operation according to whether the cassette is inserted correctly or incorrectly.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.